Baling-press.



PATENTED ULY 14, 1903,

T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESSJ -APPLIOA'1ION FILED JULY so, 1902.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 1..

N0 MODEL.

No, 733,849., PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

T. A. KILLMAN. BALING PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 10 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THE NORRIS puns co, vumoumu. wnumoToN. n c

T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

@j hforgz ys we NORRIS PETERS no, s-ncroumo, vusnmsmw n c No. '733,849.PATENTED JULY 14, 1903. T. A- KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

NO MODEL. 10 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Hdifi esses v lg zgfar M Qa/MA 9/ l/ W I 1 fl @jqfiorge ys PATENTED JULY14, 1903.

T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 30, 1902.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

N0 MODEL.

m: npams warns co vnmquma. msmnmox a c PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS. APPLICATION PILB D JULY 30, 1902.

10 SHEETS-SHEET a.

N0 MODEL.

No. 733,849. PATENTED JULY 14, 190 3 T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30,1902.

NO MODEL. l0 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

. QC/ 5- W i Jlfiorgzye:

No."73-3,849. PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

' T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 30. 1902.

10 SHEETS-SHEET 8- no MODEL.

. mgin w M W M W I l n! mw mfi Wifgzsses No. 733,849. PATBNTED JULY 14,-1903.

T. A. KILLMAN.

BALING PRESS, APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1902. N0 MODEL: 10SHEETS-4112531 9.

mllnmumulllmqlmmnm Mums, 4w: lsggllllnmmnlll M/Qv/M y PATENTED JULY14,1903;

v T. A. KILLMAN. BALiNG PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1902 10 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

N0 MODEL.

QQ 2E s M m E: \HN H 1 M Jhi Tu: NDHRIS Perms cu. PHOYG-LIYHQ,WASHINGTON Patented uly 14, 1901 PATENT OFFICE;

rHoMAs A. KILLMAN, or LIBERTY, TENuEssEE.

" .BALING-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 733,849, data: Julyl l,1903'.

Application filed July 30, 1902. serial No. 117,691. (No modeL To allwhom it may con/007%:

Be it known that I,- THOMAS A. KILLMAN, acitizen of the United States,residing at Liberty, in the county of Dekalband State of Tennessee, haveinvented a new and useful Baling-Press, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in baling-presses for theformation of hay, straw, fodder, and other material into the straw,shredded fodder, or other material directly from such machines and toautomatically form the same into bales as it is delivered. A furtherobject'of the invention is to provide an improved form of mechanism forantomatically forming any material into continuous bales and to separateand tie the same into single bales of uniform size.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanism forautomatically regulating the thickness of the web or bat from which thebale is formed and to prevent choking the machine from excessive andirregular feeding.

A still further object of the invention is to insure the regular andeven feed and compression of the web or bat in the compression or balingchamber.

A still further object is to provide aut0- matic mechanism for settingthe bale tying and knotting mechanism into operation for the formationof bales of uniform size.

A still further object of the invention is to provide animproved wireknotting and twisting mechanism for tying the ends of the wire around afinished bale.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedmechanismfor severing the wire from the reel or needle wire after thetwisting operation has been accomplished.

With these and other objects in view the.

invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

larged scale.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and l" represent a side elevation of abaling-press constructed in accordance'with my invention, illustratingthe same provided with running-gear in order that it may be traveled inconnection with a threshing, shredding, or similar machine. Figs. 2 and2 are similar views looking from the opposite side of the machine. Figs.3 and 3 represent the machine in plan. Figs. 4:

and at represent a longitudinal sectional elevation of the machine onthe line 4 4 of Figs. 4 and 4. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionalelevation of the machine on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2 Figs. 6 and 7 aredetail views of portions of the knotting mechanism. Figs. 8, 9, 10, and11 are detail views, partly in the nature of diagrams, illustrating theknotting mechanism in different positions during the process of tying abale. Fig. 12 is a detail plan view of the knot tying and wire cuttingmechanisms, illustrating the mechanism for actuating the looping,twisting, and cutting devices. Fig. 13 is a side elevation of a portionof the mechanism illustrated in'Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a detail sectionalview of the wire clamping and cutting device drawn to an en- Fig. 15 isa sectional view of one of the wire-twis'ters, illustrating thesupporting means. Fig. 16 is a perspective view of one of the twistedconnections between the ends of a bale-wire.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the machine shown in the accompanying drawings the supporting-frame10 is mounted on wheeled axles in order that the machine may be readilymoved from place to place in connection with a threshing or shredding machine and used in the field to automatically bale the straw, shreddedfodder, or other material as the same is delivered from said machines;but it will be understood that the frame 10 may be mounted on a suitablestationary base and supplied with the material to be baled in the usualmanner without departing from the invention.

' The frame 10 is formed of strongly-braced timbers or structural-ironbeams and at the rear or discharge end of the baling-chamber is providedwith inwardly-extending pivotpins 11 11, on which is pivotally mountedan elongated frame forming the balling-chamber and a supporting device,in which the web or bat is compressed into a bale and then bound by thebale-wire. The baling-chamber comprises, essentially, a plurality oflongitudinally-disposed beams 12, to which are connected upper and lowercross-bars 13, arranged in pairs and united by tension-bolts 14 forresisting the expansive tendency of the baled material. At the dischargeend of the baling-chamber the tension-bolts 14 are provided on theirthreaded upper ends with hand-wheels 15, having centrally-disposedthreaded hubs forming nuts whichmay be turned to compress the bales atthis point and prevent too-free discharge of the bales, the latter beingheld and resisting the compressive action of the baling rollers as theweb is gradually fed into the baling-chamber and pressed in place. Thebaling-chamber receives a vertical oscillating movement on itspivot-pins, and at the feed end it is curved on a line concentric with afulcrum-point formed by the pivot-pins 11. On each side of thebaling-chamber are cheek-plates 16, to which are secured curved racks17, adapted to engage with the teeth of pinions 18,1nounted on theopposite ends of transversely-disposed compression-roll shafts 20. Eachshaft 20 carries a compression-roller 21, which serves to graduallycompress the web or bat into the compression-cl1amber,and rotativemovement thereof is assured by reason of the contact of the racks andpinions, the entire series of rollers being constantly kept in positionduring the oscillatory movement of the balingpress by interveningidlergears 22, between the pinions of the adjacent rollers and servingto keep all of the pinions in constant motion, even if the rack bedisengaged therefrom. By this means the pinions are kept in properposition to intermesh with the racks as the latter are oscillated, andbreakage of teeth and jamming of the gears are prevented.

The oscillatory baling-chamber and rollers act in the well-known manneron a continuous web or hat of material fed to the chamher, and for thepurpose of insuring a perfectly uniform feed I employ the mechanism bestshown in Fig. 4.

At the feed end of the machine are rearwardly-extending supporting-bars25, partly supported by tie-bars 26 and provided with removable sideplates 27, forming a receptacle into which the material to be baled isdelivered. To each of the side supportingbars is secured a guide for thereception of a movable journal-box 28, carrying a shaft 29, on which arearranged a number of sprocketwheels 30, and at the rear end of the maini frame are suitable journals for the support of a shaft 31, carrying aseries of similarlyarranged sprocket-wheels 32. The sets ofsprocket-Wheels serve as supports for a plurality of link belts 33, thelinks of which carry spaced teeth 34, each tooth being bifurcated orhaving two wings for the reception of a clearance-rod 36, extending fromend to end of the belts and having their inner ends arranged on a curvedline of greater radius than that of the belts. The several chains areconnected at frequentintervals by transversely-disposed slats 37 for thesupport of the material to be baled, and as such material is received onthe slats it is traveled into the machine in the direction ofweb-forming rollers 30 and 40. The lower roller 39 is arranged at apoint slightly to the rear of the innerend of the feed-belt, and theclearancebars are turned downwardly and inwardly under said roller.Owing to the position and relative curvature of the clearance-bars andtheline of movement of the teeth 34, the material feed by the teeth isgradually raised from contact therewith and forced in the direction ofthe baling-chamber. As the clearance-bars extend the full length of thefeedbelt, there is no danger of any of the material accumulating betweenthe points of the teeth and choking the machine or being carried backin' the reverse direction by said teeth.

In'order to prevent the passage of an excessive quantity of material andto regulate the thickness of the web supplied to the baling-chamber, Iemploy a plurality of leveling fingers or teeth 41, extending throughdiametral openings in the rock-shaft 42,1nounted in suitable hearings inthe frame. The teeth are adjustable toward and from the feed-belt inorder to permit the passage of any desired quantity of material and inoperation serve to engage and throw to the rear any excess of materialand distribute such material more evenly over the belt, with the resultthat a web or hat of substantially uniform thickness will be fed to theweb-forming roller 5.

Of the web-forming rollers the roller 39 is mounted on a shaft 43,having stationary bearings, and at a point outside the frame is providedwith a gear-wheel 44, having elongated teeth adapted to engage thesimilar teeth of a gear-wheel 45, mounted on the shaft 40 of the upperweb-forming roller. The upper roller 40 is mounted in bearings supportedby opposite side springs 46, which yield to permit the passage ofsuccessive quantities of material and in all cases exercise compressiveforce on a thin web of material passing between the rollers. The shaft40 is provided at a point outside the framework with a sprocket-Wheel47, over which passes a link belt 48, receiving motion from asprocket-wheel 49, mounted on a shaft 50, having hearings in the frame.Thelink belt 48 also passes over a sprocket wheel 51, mounted on theshaft 31 at the inner portion of the feed-belt in order to drive saidbelt, and is guided to permit vertical movement of the spring-roller bymeans of an idler 52, mounted on a stud 53, projecting on the side ofthe frame.

Whenever necessary, the distance between the belt-carrying shafts 29 and31 is adjusted by means of screws 54, passing through threaded openingsin the journal-carrying slides 28 and bearin g against stationary studs55, projecting from the sides of the extensions 25 of the frame.

After passing between the web-forming rollers 39 and 40 the web passesbetween guards 56 and 57 on its way to the balingchamber and is guidedinto said chamber by the centrally disposed spaced rollers 21, formingpart of the series of compressionrollers 21.

In order to transmit the necessary oscillatory or rocking movement tothe spreading and distributing teeth 41, the shaft 42 of the latter isprovided with a crank 57, connected by a pitman 58 to a revolving crank59, carried at one end of the shaft 43, the crank 59 receiving acomplete rotative movement, while the crank 57 is merely oscillated toimpart a rocking movement to the shaft 42.

All of the movable elements of the machine are driven from the shaft 60,having at one end a belt-wheel 61, connected to a tractionengine orother suitable source of power. This shaft is provided with a pluralityof sprocket-wheels, one of which, 62, is connected by a link belt 63 toa sprocket-wheel 64, mounted on the shaft 50, from which motion istransmitted to the various feeding and webforming devices.

On the'shaft 60 is secured a bevel-pinion 65, intermeshing with a bevelwheel 66, mounted on a shaft 67, journaled under the main frame andconnected by a flexible coupling 68 to a rearwardly-extending shaft 69,supported at its outer end in a bearing-block 70. The bearing-block 70is grooved on its upper and lower faces and is guided in a slot formedin a transversely-extending bar 71, carried by the frame 10 of themachine, and is free to move laterally within said slot, excessivemovement in either direction being prevented by an elongatedvertically-disposed guiding-frame 72, movable with the baling-chamber,the inner surface of said guiding-frame being at all times in contactwith an antifr'iction-collar 73, arranged on said shaft 69.

To the lower portion of the feed end of the baling-chamber are securedbrackets 74 for the reception of the opposite ends of a pivotpin 75, onwhich is hung a rack-bar 76, secured to or forming a part of the frame72 and provided with a plurality of inwardly-project ing teeth in theform ofpins 77, with which engage the teeth of a pinion 78, mounted onthe extreme end of the shaft 69. In the operation of this portion of themechanism the web is fed to the baling-chamber in the manner well knownin this class of presses, and the bal ing-chamber is oscillated by meansof the pinion 78, which is rotated constantly in one direction andtravels first on one side of the teeth 77 and then on the opposite sidethereof, being always held in intimate contact with said teeth by theframe 72. in an oscillatingmovement of the balingchamber, there being aslight dwell as the pinion is passing the end teeth or pins andpermitting the slow stopping of the movement of the baling-chamber andaffording ample time for the turning of the web for the formation of thenext layer of the bale. The successive layers added to the balegradually The operation results force the completed bale out through thedisto the speed at which the compression andfeeding mechanism isoperated.

Near the rear end of the baling-chamber is mounted a suitable metallicframe extended laterally on each side of the baling-chamber and servingas a support for the several, members of the knotting and wire-cuttingmechanism.

In the present machine it is designed to employ two wires for bindingeach bale and to introduce the wires across the balingchamber and dividea bale from the compressed hay or other material within thebaling-chamber, I employ two needles 81 and 82, each having a pointedend provided with a suitable eye 83 for the passage of the wire and eachhaving a recess 84 near the pointed end to permit the introduction ofthe looper, which takes the wire from the needle and forms a loop whichis subsequently acted upon by a twisting device. The under sides of theneedles are provided with racks and are mounted in suitable guideways86,'carried by the supporting-frame S0 at one side of the machine. Theneedle-racks-are engaged by small pinions 87, mounted on shafts 88,having suitable hearings in the frame and provided at their oppositeends with gearwheels 89, intermeshing with a pinion 90, mounted on ashaft 91, having suitable bearings in the framework. 7

The pivot-pin 11 of the baling-chamber' is extended to a point outsidethe chamber and there provided with a sprocket-wheel 92 and abevel-gear93, the sprocket-wheel being con tin uously revolved through alink belt 94 and a sprocket-wheel on the main driving-shaft 60. Thebevel-gear 93 intermeshes with said bevel pinions 95 and 96, mountedloosely on the shaft 91, said pinions being revolved continuously inopposite directions and so arranged that either may be clutched to theshaft to drive the same. The adjacent faces of the gear-wheel hubs areprovided with clutch-faces for engagement with a longitudinally-movableclutch 97, feathered on the shaft 91 and movable by a yoke 98, securedto a slidable rod 99, which is supported by brackets extending from theframe. One end of the shaft 91 is threaded for the reception of a not100, having an extending arm 101, perforated or slotted for the passageof the rod 99, and on said rod are two fixed collars 102 and 103, whichmay be engaged by the arm 101 to effect a shifting movement of the rodand a corresponding movement of the clutch.

106 represents suitable bearing blocks mounted above the baling-chamberand supporting a shaft 107, on which is mounted a toothed wheel 108, thecircumference of which is equal to the length of bale which it isdesired to manufacture, the toothed wheel being engaged by thecompressed material in the baling-chamber and being revoluble todetermine the length of bale. This wheel is loosely mountedon theshaft-and is connected thereto by a torsion-spring 109, secured at oneend to the shaft and at the opposite end to the wheel. To the shaft isrigidly secured a radial arm 110, from which projects a pin 111, fittedin a slot 112 in an arm 113, pivoted at one end to one of the spokes ofthe wheel 108. The arm 113 in rotating will engage a fixed stop 11 1,carried by the baling-chamher, and being engaged with the pin of theradial arm 110 will naturally stop the rotative movement of the shaft.The wheel continues rotating while in contact with the bale, and thespring is gradually wound toincrease its torsional strain until the endof the arm 113 is carried beyond the end of the stop 114 and beingreleased permits the rotative movement of the arm 110, carried by theshaft, the shaft and arm receiving a very rapid rotative movement underthe influence of the spring. This movement is transmitted through acrank-arm 116 at the end of the shaft to a rod 117, the latter beingbent at a right angle at its opposite end and perforated for the passageof the rod 99. When the shaft and crank 116 are moved, the rod 117engages a fixed collar 118 on the rod 99 and moves the rod 99 and theclutch 97 into engagement with the hub of the bevel-gear 96, the latterbeing thus clutched to the shaft 91 and operating the same. The shaft107 continnes to rotate for a short distance, and the perforated end ofthe rod 117 is pushed back from contact with the collar 118 and intocontact with a spring 119, which is partly com-.

pressed by this movement. The spring encircles the clutch-shifting rod99,and one end is held against a collar 120, which may be adjusted onthe rod to alter the stress of the spring. As soon as the bevel-gear 96is engaged and the shaft 91 is turned the movement is transmittedthrough the connectinggearing to the shafts 8S and the needles 81 and82, the latter being thrust through the material in the baling-chamberand carrying the wires across to the opposite side, at which point thewires are engaged by the looping and twisting devices. During thismovement the nut 100 is being traveled in the direction of the clutch bythe threaded end of the shaft 91, and when the arm 101 of the nut comesinto contact with the collar 103 the clutchshifting rod is moved and theclutch is disengaged from the bevel-gear 96 and moved to mid-position.The spring 119 is at this time compressed and serves to impart a furthermovement to the clutching-rod,the clutch being moved into engagementwith the hub of the bevel-gear 95 and the shaft 91 then receiving arotative movement in the opposite direction, which results in thewithdrawal of the needles to initial position.

The operative movement of the needles and the movement of all thebale-tying devices is governed by the wheel 108, the diameter of saidwheel governing the length of the bale and the operation being such thatthe needles and other parts of the knotting mechanism will be actuatedonly when a predetermined length of baled material has passed under thewheel 10S, and this without regard to the quantity of the feed or thespeed at which the mechanism is operated.

At the opposite side of the baling-chamber the pivot-pin 11 is extendedout beyond the main frame to form a support for a sprocketwheel 125 anda bevel-gear 126. The sprocketwheel is continuously revolved from themain shaft by means of a sprocket-wheel 127 and a link belt 128.

At one side of the frame 80 are bearings for the support of a shaft 130,having at one end a bevel-gear 131, inter-meshing with the gear-wheel126 and continuously revolved thereby. At the opposite end of this shaftis a loose sleeve 132, carrying a pinion 133, which intermeshes with acrown-wheel or bevel-gear 134:, mounted on a vertically-disposed shaft135. The sleeve 132 is provided with a clutching-face for engagementwith a clutch 136, feathered on the shaft 130 and under the control of aclutch-rod 137, having suitable guides in the framework and provided atone end with a compression-spring 138, normally tending to move theclutch into engagement with the sleeve 132.

The bevel-gear 131 receives one complete revolution at each operation ofthe knotting mechanism, and to start and stop the mechanism at theproper point the clutch-rod 137 is provided with an arm 139, adapted tobe engaged by a cam-block 140 on the upper face of the gear-wheel 134:,so that when said gear-wheel completes a revolution the cam will engagethe arm 139 and will move the clutching-rod against the stress of thespring 138 to disengage the clutch 136. To release the clutch and againoperate the mechanism, a rod or bar 141 is secured to the clutch-rod 137and arranged in the path of movement of the lower needle 82, so thatwhen said needle nears the limit of its movement across thebaling-chamber the end of the needle will engage the bar and effect arocking movevment of the rod 137 to an extent sufficient to raise thearm 139 above the cam 140 and permit the spring 138 to-rengage theclutch and start the wire looping and twisting mechanism into operation.The needles return to the opposite side of the machine before thecompletion of the revolution of the wheel 134, and the arm 139 isdropped on the face of the wheel in position to be again engaged by thecam 140 at the completion of a revolution of the wheel. By placing thetwisting and knotting mechanism under the control of the needle thelooper and twister may be timed to act with the utmost accuracy and canonly start to operate while the needle is in proper position to deliverthe Wire.

The gear-wheel on the shaft 135 comprises a bevel-gear 134, a mutilatedgear 145, and a continuous spur-gear 146, the wheels 145'and 146 beingadapted, respectively, to actuate the looper, which takes the wire fromthe needle, and a twister, which engages the wire held by the looper andtwists the same to securely unite the ends of the bale-Wire.

A single looper is employed for each needle, and each looper is in theform of a dished plate or disk 148, having diametrically-opposed hooks149, adapted to enter the recess 84 of the needle and to engage the wirestretched across the recess between the eye of the needle and the baledmaterial at the opposite side of the baling-chamber. The loopers aremounted on shafts 150, having hearings in brackets or standards 151 andprovided at that end opposite the looper with bevel -gears 152,intermeshing with bevelgears 153 on a vertical shaft 154, which alsocarries a mutilated gear 155, adapted to engage the mutilated gear 145on the shaft 135, the arrangement being such that the loopers receiveone complete revolution at each operation and are then stopped ininitial position until the needles again cross the balingchamber for theformation of another bale.

Each looper is provided with a segmental slot 157, having sharp cuttingedges adapted to coact with a wire-cutter 158, formed at one end of aplunger 159, guided in an opening in the standard 151 and normally heldin inoperative position by a compression-spring 160. The plunger isrecessed for the reception of a smaller plunger or rod 161, having acorrugated or roughened face 162 and projected slightly beyond the endof the plunger 159 by a compression-spring 163, the plunger or rod beingadapted to engage with the wire on the looper in advance of the cuttingoperation and to hold the same during and after the cutting operationuntil the severed end of the wire is engaged in a holding-clamp 164,arranged on the rear face of the looper.

The operating mechanism for the plunger comprises a earn 165 on thelower face of the gear-wheel146, said cam engaging an arm 166, securedto a rock-shaft 167, having suitable bearings in the frame and providedwith tappet-arms 168, which engage with the rear ends of the plnngers159 and force both the wire-holder and the wire-cutter to operative baror segment 175, which serves to confine the knotter in position. Eachplate 171 is slotted in a radial line from the perimeter to the center,as indicated at 176, and the material at one wall of the slot isextended out beyond the circumferential line of the plates to form aslightly-curved bill or book 177 for engagement with the looped wirecarried by the'looper, the adjacent face of the latter being recessed ordished to permit the free movement of the bill or hook 177.

In the slot 176 of each of the twisting-plates and projecting radiallythereof is a tongue 178, slightly bent or curved at its outer end andterminating at a point inalinement with the circumferential line of theplate. In the position shown in Fig. 7 the bill or hook 177 and theouter end of the tongue 178 are curved outwardly and downwardly and theadjacent lower wall of the slot is similarly curved to facilitate theentrance of the wire.

The two gear-wheels 173 are provided with radial slots corresponding tothe slot 176 of the twisting-plates to which they are seen red, thewidth of the slot being approximately equal to the space between twoadjacent teeth of the gear-wheels, so that said gears may revolve byintermeshing with gear-wheels 180,

carried by shafts 181, adapted to suitable bearings and provided eachwith a bevel-gear 182, intermeshing with a bevel-gear 183 on avertically-disposed shaft 184, the latter being also provided with apinion 185, intermeshing with the teeth of the continuous spur-gear 146on the shaft 135. The operation of this portion of the mechanism will bebest understood by reference to Figs. 8, 9, and 10. In Fig. 8 the end ofthe wire leading around the rear or discharge end of the bale is shownas caught in the clamp 164 of the looper, said wire being illustrated indiagram as passing around the side of the bale at the opposite side ofthe baling-chamber and thence through the eye of the needle and back tothe wire-reel 190, which is located on that side of the baling-chambercarrying the needle-operating mechanism. As shown in Fig. 8, the wire isstretched taut across the needle-recess 84, and the wire at this pointis about to be engaged by one of the looper-hooks. In Fig. 9 is shownthe next movement, the needle being on the reverse movement and thelooper having accomplished one complete rotation to cross the wiresengaged by the hook and removed from the needle and the wire engaged bythe opposite hook and still held by the clamp 164. This completes theoperation of the looper, and further movement is unnecessary until theneedle is again forced through the compressed material to form anotherbale. The bill 177 of the twister engages the wire, the plates 171engaging the two portions of the twisted wire on opposite points of thecentral line at which such wires cross, as indicated in Fig. 9, thewires being forced into the slots of the twisting-plates and engaged bythe tongue 178 and there held during a number of revolutions of thetwisting-plates until the wire assumes a position shown in Fig. 10, theoperation being complete at this time with the exception of the severingof the wire and the removal of the twisted portion thereof from thetongues 178. During the movement of the twisters the cam 165 has beenrotated and the tappet-arms 168 have been gradually forced intoengagement with the plnngers 160, each plunger being forced toward theloopers until the serrated or roughened head 162 of the smaller plungerengages and holds the wire at a point adjacent to the slot 157. Thecontinued'movement of the tappet-arms forces the cutter 158 into theslot 157 and severs the wire, the severed end being still held by theholder 161 and the latter being retained in contact with the wire, owingto the fact that the rotation of the gearwheels and the cam 165 isstopped before the antifriction-roller carried by the rocker-arm 166passes the end of the cam. The parts remain in this position until thefurther forward movement of the compressed material as fresh material isadded to the baling-chamber pulls the twisted wire from the tongues, andthe further movement brings the wire of which the end is held by theplunger 161 around and under the clamp 164, said wire being held in theclamp and drawn gradually from the reel as the compressed materialtravels through the baling-chamber and sufficient material has passedthe needles to form a fresh bale. When this occurs, the parts are againoperated, the gear-wheels and the cam 165 being first rotated to imparta movement to the cam 165 sufificient to bring the end of the cam pastthe end of the arm 166 and permit the release of the wire-holdingplunger 161 and the cutter 158, after which the looper is free torevolve to again take the wire from the needle.

It will be understood that during the traverse of the needles across thebaling-chamber and during the return movement to initial position thecompressed material is still being moved to the rear. This necessitatessome little movement of the frame 80 and all of the parts carriedthereby. The frame is moved to the rear by the contact of the compressedmaterial with the needles and is returned to initial position after eachmovement by means of springs 80, connecting the frame to a fixedcross-bar of the chamber.

The machine forming the subject of the invention may be mounted on astationary base and operated in a manner similar to stationarybaling-presses; but it is preferred to provide the same withrunning-gear in order that it may travel with a thresher, shredder, orsimilar machine to receive the material to be baled directly from saidmachine without the necessity of hauling the same to a central baler. Itwill also be understood that the several parts of the mechanism may bealtered to accommodate. different classes of material and that while theconstruction herein described, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, is the preferred form of the device changes in the form,proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be madewithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof my invention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- 1. A feed mechanismfor a baling-press, comprising a pair of web-forming rollers, aplurality of feed-belts arranged in advance of the rollers and eachprovided with double prongs or fingers for engagement with the materialto be baled, stripper-rods guided between said prongs or fingers andextended under one of the web-forming rollers at the discharge end ofthe belt.

2. A feeding device for baling-presses, comprising an endless belt onwhich the material to be baled is deposited, a plurality of oscillatoryfingers or arms disposed above the belt and adapted to engage with andevenly distribute any excess of material on said belt, and means forimparting oscillatory or rocking movement to said fingers.

3. A feeding mechanism for a baling-press, comprising a pair ofweb-forming rollers, an endless belt, adapted to feed the material to bebaled to said rollers, means for operating the rollers and the belt, arock-shaft mounted above the belt and operatively connected to one ofsaid rollers, and a plurality of adjustable fingers carried by therock-shaft and adapted to engage with and distribute the materialcarried by the belt.

4. The combination with feeding mechanism and a baling box or chamber,of apair of web-forming rollers, a spring-pressed bearing supporting oneof said rollers to permit the separation of the rollers, andintermeshing gear-wheels connecting said rollers to each other, one ofsaid gears having elongated teeth to permit the separation of therollers without moving the gears out of contact, substantially asspecified.

5. The combination with a supportingframe, of a pivotally-mountedbaling-box, means for oscillating the same, segmental racks carried bythe baling-box, a plurality of compression-rollers carried by the frameand each provided with a rack-engaging pinactuating mechanism.

ion, and intervening idler-pinions intermeshing with the roller-pinionsand forming a continuous train of gearing to thereby keep the rollers inconstant motion.

6. The combination with a frame, of a pivotally-mounted baling-box,means for compressing a web of material within said box, a bar and aguard depending from the balingbox, a plurality of pins carried by thebar and forming a rack, a shaft, means for continuously revolving theshaft in one direction, a bearing-block for said shaft, atransverselydisposed guide for the bearing-box, and anantifriction-sleeve carried by the shaft and adapted for engagement withthe guard to thereby maintain the pinion in constant mesh with the rack.

7. The combination with the'frame, of a shaft mounted in fixed bearingsthereon, a pivotally-mounted baling-box carried by the frame, means forcompressing a web of material within said baling-box, a depending barcarried by the baling-box and provided with a plurality of pins to forma rack, a pinion adapted to intermesh with said rack, a continuous guardextending around the rack for maintaining the pinion constantly in meshwith the rack, a shaft carrying said pinion and having a flexibleconnection with the shaft carried by the frame, a bearing-block for thepinion-shaft, and a transversely-disposed guard .in which said block isfree to move to permit the pinion to engage alternately with theopposite sides of said rack.

8. The combination with a supportingframe, of a pivotally-mountedbaling-box, a bale-tying mechanism carried by the box, apower-transmitting shaft, and gearing connections between the shaft andthe bale-tying mechanism, one of the intermediate gearwheels of suchgearing connections having its axis of rotation coincident with thefulcrumpoint of the baling-box to thereby permit the transmission ofpower to the tying mechanism without regard to the position of thebalingbox.

9. The combination with a baling-box, of a bale-tying mechanism,wire-feeding needles adapted to pass through the material and to startthe operation of such mechanism, means for actuating the needles, and anautomatic mechanism controlled by the movement of the compressedmaterial within the box for starting and stopping the operation of theneedle 10. The combination with a baling-box,of a wire-twistingmechanism located at one side of the baling-chamber, wire-feedingneedles disposed at the opposite side of the chamber and adapted to passthrough the material and to start the operation of the Wire-twistingmechanism, and means for automatically starting and stopping themovement of the needles.

11. In a device of the class specified, the combination with abaling-chamber,of a Wiretwisting mechanism arranged at one side of thechamber, an operating means for said wire-twisting mechanismnneans forautomatically stopping the movement of the twisting means after thecompletion of each operation,

needles adapted to pass through'the material and to start the operationof the twister-operating means, an actuating device for the needles, andmeans for automatically starting and stopping the movement of theneedleactuating device.

12. The combination with a baling-chamber, of a frame mounted on thechamber, a twisting mechanism and a wire-feeding mechanism carried bythe frame, pivot-pins forming a support for the baling-box, and apower-' transmitting mechanism connected to the the same, a shaft havinga gearing connection with the pinions, bevel-pinions mounted loosely'onsaid shaft and engaging the bevel- Wheel, and an automatically-operatedclutch for connecting either of said pinions to the shaft.

14. The combination with a baling-box,ofa wire-twisting mechanism, aplurality of needles, racks on said needles, pinions engaging the racks,shafts carrying said pinions, gears on said shafts, an auxiliary shaft,a pinion thereon intermeshing with both of the gears, a pair ofloosely-mounted bevel-pinions carried by the auxiliary shaft, a drivenbevelgear intermeshing with both of the pinions, a clutch carried by theauxiliary shaft and movable into engagement with either of the pinions,and means for automatically operating said clutch to effect itsengagement with one or other of the bevel-pinions.

15. The combination with a baling-box, of.

a wire -twisting mechanism, a pluralityof needles, racks on the needles,pinions engaging the racks, shafts carrying said pinions, gears on saidshafts, an auxiliary shaft, a pinion carried thereby engaging both ofthe gears, a pair of bevel-pinions loosely mounted on the auxiliaryshaft, a driven bevel-wheel intermeshing with both pinions, a clutchcarried by the shaft and adapted to engage with either of thebevel-pinions, a nut carried by a threaded portion of the auxiliaryshaft and movable longitudinally of said shaft, alongitudinally-movableclutchrod, a pair of collars mounted on the rod and engaging the nutwhen the latter nears the limit of its movement in each direction, meansforcon-' meeting the clutch-rod to the clutch, a compression-springcarried by the clutch-rod, a revoluble shaft, a crank carried thereby, arod connected to the crank and having a portion encircling theclutch-rod and bearing against the spring, and an auxiliary collarsecured to the clutch-rod and adapted to be engaged by the rod extendingfrom the crank, substantially as specified.

16. The combination with a baling-box, of a wire-twisting mechanism, aplurality of needles, an operating means thereforincluding a threadedshaft, a pair of bevel-pinions loosely mounted on the shaft, adrivenbevelgear intermeshing with both of the piuions, a clutch-rod, a clutchmounted on the shaft and connected to the rod, a nut mounted on thethreaded portion of the shaft and having an arm embracing the rod,collars carried by the rod and adapted to be engaged by said arm, acompression-spring encircling the rod, and means for automaticallycompressing the spring and for retaining the same compressed during anoperative movement of the shaft to thereby permit the shifting of theclutch, substantially as specified.

17. The combination with a baling-box, of a wire-twisting mechanism, aplurality of needles, actuating mechanism for the needles, a toothedwheel adapted to engage the compressed material within the box, a shafton which said wheel is loosely mounted, mechanism connecting the shaftto the needle-actuating mechanism, a torsion-spring connecting the shaftand wheel, a projecting arm carried by the shaft and provided with a lugor pin, a slotted arm pivoted to the wheel and engaging said pin, and afixed stop with which said slotted arm makes contact.

18. The combination with a baling-box, of a wiretwisting mechanism, aplurality of needles, actuating mechanism for the needles, a clutchingmechanism for connecting the ac tuating mechanism to the needles, atoothed wheel adapted to engage the compressed material within the box,a shaft carrying said wheel and connected to the clutching mechanism,and means for connecting the shaft and wheel to permit a rapid revolvingmovement of the shaft after sufficient material has passed the needlesto form a bale, substantially as specified.

19. The combination with a baling-box, of a wire-twisting mechanism, aplurality of needles, actuating mechanism for the needles, a clutchingmechanismfor connecting the actuating mechanism to the needles, atoothed wheel revoluble by engagement with the compressed material, ashaft on which said wheel is loosely mounted, a torsion-spring connect--ing the shaft to the wheel, mechanism connecting said shaft to theclutching mechanism, a slotted arm pivotally secured to the wheel, aradial arm rigidly secured to the shaft and having a pin engaging saidslot, and a fixed stop for engagement with the slotted arm,substantially as specified.

20. The combination with baling mechanism, of a needle, a looper havinga hook adapted to engage and withdraw the wire from the needle, and atwister comprising a pair of spaced plates slotted for the reception ofthe wire and each provided with a wire-engaging tongue and means forrevolving the looper and the twister.

21. The combination with baling mechanism, of a needle, a revolublelooper having a wire-engaging clamp and provided with a pair ofdiametrically-opposed hooks, and a twisting device comprising a pair ofspaced plates provided with radial slots for the reception of the wire,wire-engaging hooks forming a part of said plates, and tongues arrangedwithin the slots and adapted to engage the wire.

22. The combination With baling mechanism, of a needle, a looping devicefor engaging the needle-wire and forming a loop therein, and a twistercomprising a pair of slotted plates each provided with a wire'engagingtongue and adapted to engage with the looped wire carried by the looper,substantially as specified.

23. The combination with baling mechanism, of a needle, a looper in theform of a dished plate having peripherally disposed wire-engaging hooks,a wire-clamp arranged on the rear face of the looper, a pair ofconnected twisting-plates each radially slotted and provided with a billor hook adapted to enter the dished portion of the looper, wireengagingtongues disposed in each of the radial slots, and means for operatingthe looper and the twisting-plates.

24. The combination with baling mechanism, of a needle, a looper havingwire-engaging hooks and provided with a slot or recess, a clamp-platecarried by the looper, a cutter adapted to enter the slot or recess, aplunger carrying the cutter, an auxiliary wire-holding clamp carried bythe plunger, and a twisting device adapted to engage with and remove thewire from the looper.

25. The combination with baling mechanism, of a needle, a looper havingwire-engaging hooks and provided with a cutting slot or recess, awire-clamp carried by the looper, a plunger mounted adjacent to thelooper, a cuttin g-knife carried by the plunger and adapted to enter theslot or recess, an auxiliary springpressed plunger carried by thecutter-plunger and adapted to engage with and hold the wire against theface of the looper, means for actuating the plungers, and a twistingdevice adapted to engage with and twist the wire carried by the looper.

26. The combination with a supportingframe, of a pivotally-mountedbaling-box, a bale-tying mechanism carried by the box; means foractuating said bale-tying mechanism, a driven bevel-gear mounted on thepivotal axis of the baling-box, a power-transmitting shaft held inhearings on the baling-box; and a bevel-pinion carried by said shaft andintermeshing with said bevel-gear.

27. The combination with a supportingframe, of a pivotally-mountedbaling-box, a frame carried thereby, bale-tying mechanism supported bythe frame at one side of the baling-box, means for operating saidbaletying mechanism, a needle disposed on the opposite sides of thebaling-box and means operable by the needle for starting the operativemovement of the bale-tying mechanism.

28. The combination with a baling-box, of a bale-tying mechanism mountedat one side of the box,meohanism including a constantlyrevolving shaftfor operating the bale-tying mechanism, a clutch carried by the shaftand movable to start the operation of the baletying mechanism, alongitudinally-movable clutch-rod to which said clutch is connected, aspring carried by the clutch-rod and normally tending to move the clutchto engag ing position, a cam-actuated arm carried by the clutch-rod andadapted to move the clutch to releasing position at the end of eachoperative movement, an auxiliary releasing-arm carried by theclutch-rod, and a needle arranged at the opposite side of the baling-boxand adapted to engage said auxiliary arm.

29. The combination witha baling-box, of a frame carried thereby, a pairof loopers, shafts mounted in hearings in the frame and carrying saidloopers, bevel-wheels on said shafts, a vertically-disposed shaftcarried by the frame and carrying bevelgears intermeshing with those onthe looper shafts, twisting devices, operating-shafts therefor,bevel-gears carried by the shafts, a verticallydisposed shaft havingbevel-gears intermeshing with those of the twisting mechanism, ahorizontally mounted gear wheel having teeth for imparting intermittentmevement to the loopers and to the twisting devices, beveled or crownteeth arranged in the upper face of the gear, a driving-pinionintermeshing therewith, a shaft on which the drivingpinion is looselymounted, and an automatically-operated clutching mechanism for engagingand releasing the driving cam. and shaft.

30. The combination with a baling-box, of a supporting-frame carriedthereby, wire-loopers and twisting mechanisms carried by said frame, avertically-disposed shaft, a gear carried thereby and having gear-teethfor imparting intermittent rotative movement to the looper mechanism andto the twisting mechanism, bevel-teeth on said gear, a driving-pinion, ashaft on which the driving-pinion is loosely mounted, a clutch forengaging the pinion and shaft, a cam carried by the gear and adapted tomove the clutch to disengaging position at the end of eachcompleterotation of the gear, and a needle disposed at'the opposite side of thebaling-box and adapted to cause the movement of the clutch to engagingposition, substantially as specified.

31. A twisting device comprising a pair of spaced and radially-slottedplates, wire-engaging tongues disposed in the slots, slotted gears towhich the plates are secured, a contrally-disposed slotted hubconnecting the gears, ahub-support, and driving-gears intermeshing withthe slotted gears of the hWiSh',

ing-plates.

32. A device of the class specified, a looper, a wire-engaging clampcarried thereby, and

an auxiliary clamp for retaining the cut end of the wire during therearward movement of the compressed material in the baling-chamher topermit the movement of the wire over g the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS A. KILLMAN. Witnesses:

W. PERCY WHALEY, JNo. O. WHALEY.

